I DID see Nessie. I just forgot my camera: Monster hunter gutted after missing opportunity

Steve gave up his life to live in Inverness and look for the monster [CATERS/REX]

Steve Feltham, 51, dedicated 23 years f his life to finding the mythical creature.

Steve, from Wimborne, Dorset, quit his job fitting security cameras to spend his days searching for Nessie and living on the banks of Loch Ness in 1991.

The monster-hunter became obsessed with the legend of Nessie after a family holiday to the Highlands when he was just seven – and made it his life's mission to prove she exists.

But after 23 years of patiently watching the loch, Steve STILL doesn't have any proof of the beast's existence because he forgot his camera the day he did spot the monster in 1993.

Steve said: "Gutted is an understatement for that moment. It was the moment I had always dreamed of since I was a young boy but I didn't catch it on film.

DEDICATION: Steve is on the loch every day [CATERS]

"Ever since I have dedicated my life to seeing Nessie again and this time I am ready with my camera. For the past 23 years Steve has carefully studied the waters of the Loch in the hope of catching a glimpse of his beloved Nessie.

But Steve couldn't believe his eyes when he caught a glimpse of Nessie after just 18 months of living on the banks of Loch Ness.

Steve said: "I was sitting on the shore near the Fort Augustus end of the Loch when something went past the bay, through the water.

"It was like a torpedo shot and it had some weight behind it, hitting through the waves.

"Nothing in Loch Ness could create a disturbance like that – apart from Nessie. "I just sat there in amazement. It was the moment I had always been waiting for and I am kicking myself for not taking a photo.

"Since then I have been by the Loch with my camera poised, every day, come rain or shine. I won't let an opportunity like that pass me by again."

CREATIVE: He makes models of Nessie to sell throughout the summer [CATERS]

It was childhood holiday to the Scottish Highlands in 1970 which sparked a lifelong fascination with the Loch Ness Monster for Steve.

Plus, Steve would spent two weeks at a time camping in a tent during his teen years, hoping to catch a glance of the elusive monster.

When he was 27 Steve moved to the Scottish Highlands to start a new life. He bought an old mobile library for £1,500 and has been living in it ever since, parked in the car park of a pub called the Dore Inn. But Steve has no plans to leave Loch Ness and is happiest in his own company.

He makes models of Nessie to sustain his simple lifestyle and sells them to tourists during the summer months.

This means he can happily spend his days studying the waters of the loch he is so fond of.

The legend of the Loch Ness Monster has been around since the 6th Century when an Irish monk called Saint Columba witnessed locals burying a man who had been attacked by a "water beast."